Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Vale ~ Suzanne Mourot

Miss Suzanne Mourot held the position of Mitchell Librarian at the State Library of NSW between 1973 and 1979. Last week she passed away at the age of 91.

Miss Mourot was born in New Caledonia. She joined the Public Library in 1944. Her considerable talents were quickly realised and she worked across the Library's collections, both published and unpublished. She was particularly interested in collection arrangement, and was instrumental in regularising the cataloguing and description of the pictures and manuscript collection during the late 1950s. Her roles included Manuscript Librarian, Dixson Librarian, with responsibility too, for the pictures collection.

At various times she also held the positions of Deputy Mitchell Librarian and Associate Mitchell Librarian, before being appointed Mitchell Librarian in 1973. She retired in 1979. Her corporate history, however, does little to capture the respect and high regard with which she was held, and the influence she had on this Library. Miss Mourot was widely admired for her authority and knowledge of the collections she administered, and she was keenly involved with their interpretation and promotion. She led the very successful Captain Cook Bicentennial Exhibition in 1970.

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